NAO sets out to conquer new markets with the Zora solution

PARIS, JULY 20 2017 SoftBank Robotics and Zora Bots have just signed a major partnership aimed at reaching a wider audience for the humanoid robot NAO. Zora Bots, which has already deployed its software designed for robots in the health sector, is now the world's leading distributor of NAO and is poised to expand its solution in many areas including retail, hospitality, education (STEM skills) and personal services. This strategic rapprochement in the international arena will bring humanoid robotics into a new dimension and make NAO available to a wider audience.

Every day, the humanoid robot created by SoftBank Robotics and equipped with the Zora® solution is already working alongside healthcare teams, performing various feats and providing new kinds of support throughout the world. In hospitals, treatment centres, nursing homes and care centres, this small robot just under 58 cm tall has been adopted as a working tool that makes it possible to improve patient care significantly.

Today, SoftBank Robotics and Zora Bots have reached an agreement to expand their partnership. Designed and developed to universalise the use of humanoid robots, the Zora® solution will now be available worldwide, facilitating the use of NAO in a considerable number of domains.

"Humanoid robotics is entering a new dimension," explain Fabrice Goffin and Tommy Deblieck, joint managing directors of Zora Bots. "Our first years of operation have allowed us to continually test and improve the way NAO is used on a day to day basis. Today, with the Zora® solution, NAO is set to conquer new areas."

Over 10,000 NAO have already been sold in almost 70 countries. This strategic rapprochement between the two companies should make it possible for NAO to attract an even wider audience. In retail, hospitality, education and other sectors, NAO equipped with the Zora® solution is the ideal companion for carrying out repetitive tasks such as reception services, providing information (product/services catalogues, school exercises, events agendas) and leading activities. It is also perfect for offering opportunities for interaction unique to all individual user groups such as clients, students and colleagues.

"Our vision has always been to create a solution that would allow everyone, regardless of whether they are adept at using new technologies, to imagine their profession and their everyday life differently through the intuitive use of an undeniably versatile and likeable robot,” add Zora Bots' directors." With SoftBank Robotics, we share this vision that every day, robots can assist man rather than replace him".

About SoftBank Robotics :The world leader in humanoid robotics, SoftBank Robotics has over 500 employees in offices located in Paris, Tokyo, San Francisco, Boston and Shanghai. More than 20,000 SoftBank Robotics robots, NAO, Pepper and Romeo, are used in over 70 countries in sectors as diverse as retail, tourism, health, research, education and entertainment. For more information: www.ald.softbankrobotics.com

Over Zora Bots : Zora Bots in Oostende is een Belgisch bedrijf gespecialiseerd iBased in Ostend, Zora Bots is a Belgian company specialising in new robotics solutions. Zora is the first application software in the world capable of bringing humanoid robots to life, making them directly and practically useful in the personal services and healthcare sectors. The Belgian solution is the brain that makes using robots simple and reliable. The Zora® solution has gained the consentaneous trust of health professionals who consider the tool a real asset for providing people-centred and patient care.For more information: www.zorarobotics.be